Modelling Mobility Based on Obstacle-Aware Human Behaviour in Disaster Areas

Authors

Abstract

Mobility models are used to mimic the realistic movement of entities. Mobility models for wireless networks feature different objectives and characteristics, most based on random behaviour. However, random based mobility models, such as the random waypoint, are often not suitable to represent the reality of node mobility, particularly in disaster areas where the search time for victims is a critical factor. This work studies the main existent mobility models able to suit disaster environments, according to specifically identified requirements. Moreover, a formal specification of the human behaviour for disaster areas (HBDA) mobility model is presented and an obstacle avoidance mechanism is introduced. Obstacle-aware HBDA is evaluated and compared with two existent mobility models, regarding its movement and network performances in different types of scenarios with variable network size and obstacle density. Obtained results show that obstacle-aware HBDA provides an even distribution of nodes, a efficient area coverage and a good transmission rate.